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Friday, July 12, 2019

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Our version of a teleprompter — except in a Google Doc on a laptop.

Michael Barbaro

A few months ago, I began taking a screenshot of the show's opening words and posting it on Twitter as a tease for the next day's episode. I've been noticing the same questions each time from listeners, so herewith, an explainer:

What's with the capital letters? Do you have poor eyesight?

No. Or, at least, I don't think I do. I find it much easier to read capital letters than lowercase letters, so everything that's read on the show, including my questions for guests, is written that way. It's an old TV news trick — scripts for anchors often show up on the screen above the camera (and in the printed scripts on their desks) in all-capital letters.

So those pauses are … actually written … into the script?

Yup. Our secret is out. We write these introductions (we call them billboards) with every anticipated pause built in, marked by an ellipsis. When I hit an ellipsis, I remember to pause, if only for a millisecond.

What's up with the bold and italics?

We've developed a visual code for how to emphasize words in the billboard. Bold tells me when I should emphasize a particular word. Italic (like here) reminds me how I should say a specific word that's important in the sentence. A slash (like here) indicates a longer-than-usual pause.

When are these written and recorded?

Generally, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. We labor over these sentences, writing and rewriting them until they feel just right. We want to convey the most important element of the show without giving away the entire point of the episode. It's part summary, part trailer, part mystery. Our producer Michael Simon Johnson, whose skills and patience are infinite, coaches me through the delivery most nights. I usually need three to four takes to get it right.

I've noticed a few episodes do not begin with a billboard. What gives?

You're right. From time to time, we begin the show without a billboard. In that case, we put the billboard lower down, after you've been dropped into a conversation. We do this pretty rarely, because we know it can be a bit disorientating. The billboard is the audio equivalent of a welcome mat. But sometimes, it's more compelling to be tossed right into a scene.

What's your favorite billboard?

I'm partial to this one, from Sept. 27, 2017. It's on the long side, but I love how it tells a story unto itself and employs a play on words.

TODAY …

TWIN FALLS, IDAHO WAS A TYPICAL AMERICAN TOWN. THEN ... AT THE HEIGHT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, RUMORS SURROUNDING A BRUTAL LOCAL CRIME SIMMERED TO A BOIL … AND TURNED THE WHOLE TOWN UPSIDE DOWN.

A FAKE NEWS STORY … AND ITS REAL-LIFE CONSEQUENCES.

IT'S WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH.

Surely the host knows his name, right? So why is that in the script? And please tell me "From The New York Times" is not recorded every night. Don't you have that on file?

Nope. Every word is recorded every night, so that the show sounds like a coherent whole, delivered fresh from start to finish. It may not be the most efficient system, but that's what we do.

Have other questions? Ask Michael on Twitter: @mikiebarb.

An outtake from Wednesday's show

Dr. Joan Perry, who ran for a House seat in North Carolina's Third Congressional District. Caitlin Penna for The New York Times

In Wednesday's episode, Julie Davis walked us through the stakes of a primary runoff in a conservative district in North Carolina, where Republicans tested a strategy for electing more women. In an outtake from the show, we asked Julie why this district had such important implications for the party. Listen here, or read the transcript below.

Michael: Why is a conservative district where Republican seats are safe — why is that the place where Republicans feel like they have a great opportunity to elect a Republican woman?

Julie: Well, for one thing, it's a timing issue — this is when this race is. It happens to be the first race since the midterms. But secondly, the safe seats, the seats that are solidly Republican, are the base to build on. Democrats have a huge crop of women in safe Democratic seats that are reliably in that party's column, that they don't have to worry about from year to year. They also now have a new crop of women and men, but many women, in competitive seats, who — people like Abigail Spanberger in Virginia — who won a close race in a Trump district. She's very vulnerable. It's very possible that she gets voted out in 2020. So those seats are important, and the Republicans are absolutely trying to recruit more moderate women to run in some of those districts as well. But they're also more transient. And so if they want to really build a base of lasting Republican women, they're going to have to start and build from the conservative, deep red places as much as they are from the middle.

For more on Republican efforts to recruit and support women candidates, read Julie's piece on how party leaders are responding to the outcome of the election.

What we're reading

Who: Jazmín Aguilera, a producer for "The Daily"

What: "The City of Palaces," a novel by Michael Nava

A line that stuck: "The road to dictatorship is paved with temporary measures."

Beginning as a love story between an atheist and a Catholic in belle epoque Mexico, "The City of Palaces" is a beautiful, tragic epic that spans an era of opulent corruption to the start of the Mexican revolution. It brings you through a complex time of upheaval as President Porfirio Díaz's control crumbles and the country crashes into the era of the Zapatista. There's a grab bag of characters who feel familiar yet original: a judgmental grandma clinging to tradition, a curious gay son coming of age, an idealistic, do-gooder mother who nurses the sick among the indigenous poor.

As an avid reader of historical fiction, I loved being able to absorb the nuance of this moment through the emotions and memories of the characters. In one chapter, we encounter the world through the fierce resistance of a Zapatista; in another, through the moral anguish of an atheist doctor. But even with its prism of perspectives, the story is refreshingly linear and easy to follow. For those who like to learn through stories, the book is a captivating introduction to Mexican history that will inspire many Wikipedia searches. You might find yourself disoriented, as I was, when you close the book and realize you can no longer hear the clanging of the brass church bells in the distance.

On 'The Daily' this week

"Did Chief Gallagher kill this man? The medic said, no. And he said, how do you know? And the medic said, because I killed him." Dave Philipps on what happened after a key witness flipped on the stand in the trial of a Navy SEAL chief.
The billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein has long been accused of sexually assaulting underage girls, but has been shielded from federal charges. Pati Mazzei explains why he's being charged now.
The plan to elect more Republican women is hitting roadblocks. "There is this sense that, within the Republican Party," Julie Davis tells us, "there's a tendency to see women as inherently less conservative than men."
President Trump dropped his quest to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. He may have lost the battle but, in some ways, won the war, according to Adam Liptak.
Can gun makers be held accountable for mass shootings? A lawsuit brought by Sandy Hook families could help answer that question. Natalie Kitroeff spoke with David Wheeler, whose 6-year-old son died at Sandy Hook, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg.